A week of two halves regarding the weather, starting with the strong winds that had plagued the lake the previous week. Tuesday then gave way to near perfect conditions with light winds, mixed with cloud. Wednesday also saw favourable conditions although perhaps a little bright at times. Thursday brought the return of the gusty strong winds. However, once this had passed the light winds and sun came to play, giving glorious summer conditions, although not the necessarily the best for fishing. Despite these changeable conditions the 315 anglers caught a total of 1254 for a rod average of 3·98. (This represents a considerable improvement on last week’s 2·6).

The windy start to the week saw a lot of the anglers opting to fish the top Draycote Dam Wall, Rainbow Corner and Biggin Bay to get out of the strong South Westerly winds. Don Coe and Gordon Byers enjoyed good sport on the first of a three-day package visiting us from the North East. The pair boated 12 fish, drifting from Rainbow Corner out into the deeper water. They fished very different tactics – Don going for a sinking line with snakes while Gordon used dries! Season ticket holders Dave Kennell and Eddie Mitchell landed 19 fishing in Biggin Bay, they found the fish wanted a washing line with diawl bachs and crunchers teamed with a FAB on the point. Mr W Brown enjoyed good sport using blobs to land 11 fish. Mr Orpin also enjoyed great sport on an afternoon boat landing 9 fish from Rainbow Corner on Buzzers.

The winds dropped for Tuesday giving way to near perfect conditions with a light breeze & overcast skies and, as a result, the fishing was fantastic. Season ticket holder Brian Allwood enjoyed good sport on the bank fishing in Toft using small buzzers to land 10 fish. Out on the boats Mr T and J Evans fished buzzers all day to land 39 fish. The pair fished in various places around the lake but found lots of feeding fish at the bottom end of Toft. They also commented on the numbers of fish seen from the Farborough Spit to the Swan’s Nest. Making a change from the bank, season ticket holder Tony Broadway took to the boat partnered by Jude Tuffs. Both enjoyed good sport landing 18 to the boat using a mixture of dries or washing line buzzers from near the Inlet and the top Dam Wall. Ed Doulas landed 21 fish with 20 coming the dries. He fished through the middle of the lake together with drifts from the Inlet out towards B buoy. Another boat catching well on dries was that of season ticket holders Kevin Rees and John Dickens landing 22 fish. Fishing through the middle drifting from Y buoy and OL, with the top patterns being crippled midge and bobs bits.

Light winds and bright sun Wednesday made for a tricky start, however the cloud came over in the afternoon and the fish really started to pull back. On the boats Trevor Heseltine & Mil Rakic enjoyed good sport fishing buzzers to land 19 fish to the boat. Ed Douglas once again took to the water and once again was rewarded with 21 fish on dries. With the wind coming more from the South, Ed found the fish around B buoy drifting down the Draycote Dam wall. Mike Gillett and Colin Campbell landed 22 fish on buzzers fishing in Toft and Biggin Bay. Another angler catching well on dries was Jim Smith. Jim was using a big red and a big black to land 23 fish in an afternoon session. He found most of his fish drifting in between B buoy and the Draycote Dam wall. Despite the return of big winds on Thursday, regular Dennis Jones was on the bank for his usual morning session. Whilst described as “hard work”, he managed four fine rainbows from the Overflow to washing lined buzzers. C J Day also bank fished for the morning in Toft netting half a dozen to diawl bachs. Geoff Preston also enjoyed a morning stint but fished from the boat. He covered deep water netting 4 for the pot with a further five caught & released. The pairing of Edie Mitchell & Dave Kennell managed 14 to the boat but described the session as “Rock & Roll – good for surfers!”. Trevor & Robert Moore got their boat settled in the lea of the Inlet &, fishing buzzers extremely deep, found 17 obliging rainbows between them. Things settled a little later on & Gary Turner had fun on his evening boat. He scaled back on dry fly size to take 7 on his own “Little Red”! Friday saw us with hot & sunny conditions. Not an easy day but action was, nevertheless, experienced by boat & bank anglers alike. Tony Broadway was back on the bank at Dunns Bay & netted six to buzzers including fish of 2-12 & 3-4 for the pot. Ian Richardson, as consistent as ever, commented after his bank session “Lovely fish, lovely day – shrimp, snails & olive buzzer”. Ian landed eleven. John Faulconbridge also fished an evening session on the bank & netted a 4 fish bag with two more released. Kevin Rees went afloat & stuck to his preferred tactics with the dries. Covering open water he managed a creditable 22. Meanwhile, Dave Smith took his boat up near the Overflow where he fished a buzzer & FAB blob washing line for a six fish total which included two blues.

Temperatures continued to rise through the weekend. Although only a small handful of anglers braved the banks, Mr L Morris did manage three to 3-8 in Rainbow Corner. Most fish had clearly retreated to deeper water which was where the top boat of R & S Harwood found them happy to take their epoxy buzzers. They landed 15 & 11 respectively. Messrs Mead & Williams also found fish deep off the top Draycote Water Dam & netted a collective total of 23 on black & green buzzers presented in the depths. Meanwhile John McLellan stuck to surface tactics over the middle where his foam daddies accounted for 9 fish with the best weighing in at 4-12. On Sunday, despite blisteringly high temperatures & bright sunshine, George Leaton’s regular drive up from London was rewarded with a fine eight fish bag from the boat. Generally as expected though, things were hard with the majority of anglers in the 1-2 fish range, reflecting the overall rod average of 2.96 for the day. As ever though there are always exceptions. Dave Hancox managed 11 to snake patterns with usual boat partner Martyn Price sticking to the buzzer option for four. Jim Smith was however especially impressive – beating the conditions with 17 to the net having spent much of the season to date working to perfect his dry fly tactics. Well deserved congratulations Jim!

More hot weather is forecast at the start of this week and, as I write, the temperatures are approaching 30°C & the reservoir is all but flat calm!? Whilst things are forecast to cool later, best advice for those currently at the venue is to take plenty of water to avoid dehydration risks & ensure protection from the rays with adequate high factor sun screen.

Weekly Boat draw:

Congratulations to Mr B Hawker of South Wigston, Leicester who is the winner of this week’s free boat draw.

Our hard pressed team strive to maintain the boats to a high standard of cleanliness. Anglers are kindly requested to respect their endeavours by keeping their vessels shipshape & litter free. Particular attention should be paid to avoiding the unnecessary practise of pulling muddy anchors on board. These should be shaken clean before being lifted into the boat. Your assistance in this regard will be most appreciated.

Guiding & Tuition:

Why not take your own fishing further with a day out on the water with England Internationals and fishery staff Lee Henfrey or Tom Bird? Whether you wish to get to know the water better or hone a particular skill, our guides can help to improve your catch rates. Visit the website www.flyfishguiding.co.uk for more information or book a slot by calling the lodge on 01788 812018.

Keep up to date with the latest catches and fishing posts from our in-house fishery ranger and guide Tom Bird, by following him on Facebook. Tom has been catching some great fish this season and posting pictures of the fish as well as a light write up on how he has been catching them.

A week plagued by strong winds, this culminating with the boats being cancelled Tuesday. Despite the strong winds and the restrictions, the fish where still willing to pull back for the anglers who faced the less than ideal condtions. Overall this week 354 anglers braved the wind and where rewarded with 924 fish for a rod average of 2.6.

The week started with a gusty windy day this teamed with showers made for unpleasant fishing conditions. Despite the conditions many of the anglers caught well, Mr Brooks fished the bank in Rainbow corner landed 15 hard fighting fish. Using a washing line set up with small buzzers on the droppers and fab on the point. Out on the boats using the strong winds to their advantage to cover the water quickly on the rudder, Rod Wilson and Jim Dempsey landed 18 apiece. The pair found the fish across various marks around the lake, with B buoy and the deep water holding good amounts of fish. The pair found most of their fish came to gold and silver tubes on a di 7-sinking line. Other good catches came from the Tosh Storrar party down from Scotland & Wales for 4 days. The lads caught fishing straight line buzzer or the washing line in Rainbow corner to land well into couple figures including some excellent fully find residents.

No boats could take to the water Tuesday, due to the average wind speeds being over 25mph. A few hardy souls did brave the bank, Peter Allen being amongst them. Peter landed 4 fish from Rainbow corner using small size 14 buzzers fished on a washing line. A few of the Storrar party also braved the tower bank and where rewarded for their efforts catching on straight line buzzers with a small tadpole type lure on the point.

Fortunately, the wind dropped Wednesday and the boats could go out. Gary Johnstone & C McMonagle enjoyed good sport with over 20 fish to the boat, the pair took these drifting out from Rainbow Corner towards A buoy and the deeper water, using a team of mini lures and blobs on a di 7 and di 5 sinking line. Mr J Baxter also enjoyed good sport landing 15 fish from near the outlet fishing buzzers and nymphs. Mr Pete Fisher fished in front of the Inlet on the Draycote Dam to land 12 fish, Pete’s tactics were black and green buzzers on a 25ft leader fished nearly static. Sean Jarvis & Rod Kurt also enjoyed good sport on buzzers landed 12 fish to the boat fishing the Hensbrough bank.

Thursday saw the wind drop slightly which allowed the boats to venture out of Rainbow corner for the first time properly this week. From the bank Season ticket holder Dennis Jones landed 7 fish from the overflow using small size 14 black buzzers and a small black booby on the point. Another season ticket holder getting into the fish but this time from the boat was Robert Lind and his father. The pair fished in Biggin Bay to land 10 fish to the boat using minkies and other lures fished on 3 inch per second sinking line. Mr R Walker & N Barber landed 18 fish to the boat fishing buzzers at Lincroft point on a floating line. Jim Baxter and A Brunt fished around the outlet on straight line buzzers and nymphs to land over 30 fish to the boat. Tosh Storrar also used nymphs and buzzers from the boat fishing various marks around the land to land a fantastic 37 fish, with several overwintered fish in the mix as well.

A tricky day with the wind Friday, father and son team Jim and Richard Hall caught well of the bank fishing the old pipe in Biggin. They found the fish willing to take washing lined nymphs and dries, the pair commented about the amount of takes with the fish just falling off in play. Eddie Mitchell and his brother fishing the washing line to land 16 fish to the boat, fishing in Biggin Bay and down in Toft. Mr S Venti & Mr N Jones fished near the inlet on buzzers either fished on the washing line or straight lined to land 18 fish. Out on the boat Kevin Rees and John Dickens fished crippled midge patterns all day, and boated 9 fish they found the fish in Biggin bay and Duns. Friday also saw several teams practicing for the AMFC match the following day, and while they kept their cards close to the chest about specific areas. They did let us know that they caught very well fishing the washing line down the Cornfield and going through Toft.

Saturday saw the group 3 round 2 match of the Associate of Major Fishing Clubs (AMFC), with 5 six man teams taking part. The Solider Palmer B team won the match with several limits and good catches from the rest of the team. The Army tactic of choice was to fish the a 12ft midge tip teamed with a FAB on the point and nymphs up the line. They found the fish drifting from the sailing buoys in Toft onto the cornfield, and then lower down going across from the swans next. The other teams used similar tactics and areas. Although Joan Russel found the fish up near C Buoy drifting towards the bank using a slow intermediate with a pink and white blob, taking all her fish. Outside of the match in house guide Tom Bird, took the father and Son due of the McKays out for a 4-hour session. The pair enjoyed great sport calling it a “red letter day”. Tom set them both up on a team of three buzzers fished on a floating line, with the fish all coming from the willow trees in Toft. In the 4 hours, they landed 16 with Tom, then went back out using the same tactics and landed a further 13 apiece. Gary Johnston and his boat partner enjoyed good sport fishing to the left-hand side of the overflow using buzzers under the bung to land over 30 fish to the boat. Mr Houlton & Mr Naylor used dry flies around the Inlet and the top dam wall to land 28 fish with hoppers and daddies being their best patters. Mr Watson & Mr Pryde also fished those areas on dries to land 18 fish to the boat.

The wind again increased on Sunday making Toft very lumpy indeed, the gusty wind made presentation difficult, and the breeze would move the boat and the nymphs, with very little control. Vince Aronica enjoyed good sport on a variety of methods from dries to sinking lines and snakes, Vince found the fish in Rainbow corner and along to the overflow. Nick Holdsworth fished from the boat on sinking lines and lures near the lower to land 9 lovely fish. Jim Smith caught well, with 13 fish along the Draycote Dam wall and near the inlet using dries. Jim’s best patterns where big reds, ginger hopper and red Harry Potter’s. Trevor Moore fished near the inlet using a team of buzzers fished on a long leader on a floating line to land 8 fish.

The weekend also hosted 2 Jim Williams beginner tuitions days, with 9 people learning to cast and fly fish over the weekend. It was a great success with all the participants landing their first trout over the two days. Not only did they land fish they landed good fish taking advantage of some overwintered fry feeding fish that have moved onto the harbour. See out Facebook page www.facebook.com/flyfishstore for the pictures of the weekend. For more information on upcoming tuition days call the lodge on 01788 812018 or visit the website www.flyfishtuition.co.uk .

Looking forward to this next week to the strong winds are to drop Monday night giving way to what look near perfect conditions Tuesday & Wednesday with light winds and cloud cover for the majority of the day. This will allow anglers access to all areas of the lake again and hopefully get the lovely overwinter fish from the middle on dries again.

Weekly Boat draw:

Congratulations to Richard Reeve of Rugby who is the winner of this week’s free boat draw.

Our hard pressed team strive to maintain the boats to a high standard of cleanliness. Anglers are kindly requested to respect their endeavours by keeping their vessels shipshape & litter free. Particular attention should be paid to avoiding the unnecessary practise of pulling muddy anchors on board. These should be shaken clean before being lifted into the boat. Your assistance in this regard will be most appreciated.

Guiding & Tuition:

Why not take your own fishing further with a day out on the water with England Internationals and fishery staff Lee Henfrey or Tom Bird. Whether you wish to get to know the water better or hone a particular skill, our guides can help to improve your catch rates. Contact the visit the website www.flyfishguiding.co.uk for more information or book a slot call the lodge on 01788 812018.

Keep up to date with the latest catches and fishing posts from our in-house fishery ranger and guide Tom Bird, by following him on Facebook. Tom has been catching some great fish this season and posting pictures of the fish as well as a light write up on how he has been catching them.

Another warm week, with temperatures into the mid 20’s for most of the week. However, there were some great overcast muggy days, teamed with these hot days, that made for great sport in the top couple of feet of the water with a lot of fish moving out into the middle. However, on the bright warm days fish could still be caught on straight lined buzzer and nymph techniques. The week ended with a total catch of 2033 trout recorded to 453 anglers equating to a weekly rod average of 4·48.

Monday started with light winds coming from the east, a warm muggy day saw a lot of fishing moving on the top, with light showers off and on all day. Season ticket holder Ed Douglas was out on the water using small CDC shuttlecock buzzers to tempt 17 fish. Ed found the fish very willing in the morning around X, P and Y buoy. However, as the day progressed the fish became more preoccupied with small shucks and could be seen swimming around in circles with their mouths open. Mr G Davies and Mr B Lloyd enjoyed good sport boating 26 fish using buzzers and nymphs fished on a floating line, with a small booby on the point. The pair found their fish over the School Slips just past the sailing club. Mr Grant Spiller enjoyed good sport landing 24 fish to the boat using a mixture of dries and nymphs fishing along the Cornfield.

Tuesday saw another warm muggy day, however the wind had done a complete 180° change and came from the West. Mr Bettles fished the bank from Dun’s Bay to land 5 fish. He used a small white and green lure fished on a floating line. On the bank Ian Richardson landed 7 cracking fish from the Outlet. Ian used a washing line with a small snail pattern on the point and then diawl bach and buzzers up the line to land 6 rainbows and 1 brown. Fishing the Swan’s Nest in Toft, Richard Timothy landed 10 fish using small black buzzers. Out on the boats season ticket holder Tony Plummer landed 9 fish, from in front of the Inlet using buzzers and nymphs on a floating line. Tony also landed a terrific brown which he returned to the water – estimated at around 6lb. John Furlong was out Tuesday for a 4 hour guide with in-house guide Tom Bird, John fished dries through the middle in the morning with Tom to tempt 5. He then went back out in the afternoon to land another 5 fishing nymphs along the School Slips. Jamie Scott enjoyed good sport on the boat landing 7 fish, 2 of them falling to big reds with the other coming to white and black bunny leeches fished on a di 5. Mr Gwenallt Ifan & Elis Ifan enjoyed good sport from Toft fishing a washing line with small buzzers and crunchers.

A fantastic fishing day Wednesday with light winds from the east in the morning, which swung round to the south later in the day. Mr T Evans & Mr J Billinski landed 27 fish to the boat using lures and nymphs along the School Slips and out along the Hensborough Bank. On the bank season ticket holder Mike Garner fished barbless nymphs in Toft on the opposite side to the lodge to land 9 fish. Another season ticket holder getting into the trout was Brian Allwood who landed 10 fish again from Toft using buzzers. On the boats In-house guide Tom Bird took newcomer to Draycote John O’Hara out. John landed 12 fish, with his 8 fish bag going 23lb. John fished dries under Tom’s watchful eye around X buoy, Y and P buoy. Another boat utilising dries to catch well was that of Nick Dunn and Paul Angell who netted 20. They used crippled midge patterns, CDC shuttlecocks and Shipman’s Buzzers to tempt the fish. Like Tom and John, they found the fish at X & P buoy but also around OL and J buoy in the afternoon. Mr Foster & Mr Webb enjoyed good sport fishing dries and nymphs on a washing line to land 28 fish to the boat. The pair found the fish around the middle, in the same areas as previously mentioned, but also around Toft and the School Slips. Mr Adams & Mr Brooks landed over 20 fish to the boat over in Biggin Bay using straight line buzzer and nymphs techniques.

A very warm sunny day greeted the anglers on Thursday with temperatures over 25°C recorded. Consequently the dry fly fishing was difficult for those that wanted to stick to the top of the water sport. However, this being said, season ticket holder and dry fly lover Kevin Rees did manage 7 fish all on dries through the middle. Kevin used small bits and crippled midge patterns. On the bank Mr Day landed 6 fish all on buzzers from various marks on the lake, but commented the hot weather was just keeping them from the edges. Into Friday & some great conditions saw some serious action for boat & bank anglers alike. Regular angler Jude Tuffs struggled for a take for the first three hours of her session but then found herself amongst buzzer feeding fish in Rainbow Corner. Using size 12 & 14 black buzzer 2’ & 4’ under an indicator she proceeded to net a fine 8 fish limit bag with another 9 rainbows released. Sport was that hectic that she even rang the lodge to cancel an afternoon boat booking! Ian Richardson was also back for more & described his bank sport at the Overflow as “excellent” following a 16 fish session to snail patterns & small diawl bachs. Meanwhile, out in the boat, but also in the vicinity of Rainbow Corner, Peter Elliott stuck to dries & netted some thirty rainbows up to the 5lbs bracket. Norman Perkins also did particularly well with a very respectable 8 fish limit, plus a further dozen caught & released to a mix of buzzer & diawl bach.

Very few anglers on the bank on Saturday, although Mick Cronin ventured out & enjoyed a six fish session. It was a very good day for the boat anglers generally with a rod average of 6·6 for the 61 rods on the water. There were times however, when substantial gusts made things uncomfortable for many out on the water. Interestingly, lots of anglers were reporting how difficult it was to induce takes during the main part of the day, despite seeing many fish right across the venue. However, come late afternoon someone flicked the magic switch & action was fast & furious. Andy Ross & Bob Eaton were a classic case. They had only netted one fish each until four o’clock but came off the water at five having increased that number to 19! Up near the Inlet, one was on buzzers under a bung, the other fishing lures on a Di5 Sweep?! Rainbow Corner, Biggin Bay & the Cornfield all featured well in the Saturday returns. Things continued in similar fashion during Sunday, which ended on a rod average of 6·16. Only two anglers on the bank but Mr Charnley commented on the “great fishing” experienced on his morning session with a five fish tally. We welcomed eight anglers from the Leicester Disabled Fly Fishers who netted a total of 51 between them with Mark Goodge taking a four pound rainbow on a buzzer from Biggin Bay. Sunday was also the last day of a three day break for a Royal Navy group organised by Ian Foxley. They ended their memorable annual visit in competition. Eleven of their seventeen strong group landed the eight fish limit with a final tally of 118 fish taken representing a rod average of 6·94. Their tactics were completely varied with some pulling small lures & blobs & others sticking to nymphing & dries. Ronnie Gent also boat fished down in Toft where he located grown on fish to his diawl bachs & buzzer teams. He ended his session with a fine 8 fish limit bag & a further 9 released.

In conclusion, a very good week all round, with best results by far for those deploying a more imitative approach with nymph or dry fly tactics. We go into next week with the arrival of some deep Atlantic lows, forecast to be bringing some very wet & windy conditions. Best advice therefore is to take good account of up to date weather reports & dress appropriately. More fine sport is nevertheless anticipated…..

Weekly Boat draw:

Congratulations to Mr Peter Giles of Ludlow who is the winner of this week’s free boat draw.

Weekly Stats:

Number Rods: 453 Number Trout Taken: 575 Number Trout Released: 1458

Total Catch: 2033 Weekly Rod Average: 4.48

Current Fishing Times:

Bank: 07:30 until : 21:30

Boat All Day: 08:30 until 21:30

Boat Part Day: AM 08:30 until 15:00 PM 15:00 until 21:30

Last 4 Hours from: 17:30 until 21:30 (Ticket sales available from 17:15)

Gutting Room Closes: 21:00

All Anglers to be off site by: 22:00

Fishery News

Tuition Days- Beginners Courses

Saturday 10th June Hosted by Jim Williams of Vision Tackle. Now fully booked.

Sunday 11th June Hosted by Jim Williams of Vision Tackle. Currently four places available

Saturday 8th July Hosted by Kevin Hart and Tom Bird. Currently four places available

Saturday 14th October Hosted by Kevin Hart and Tom Bird. Currently five places available

Call the lodge on 01788 812018 to book or for further information

Trout Masters

Draycote has joined the Troutmasters Competition. Entry forms can be found next to the booking out sheets. You will need a member of staff to countersign your entry. Good luck!

Our hard pressed team strive to maintain the boats to a high standard of cleanliness. Anglers are kindly requested to respect their endeavours by keeping their vessels shipshape & litter free. Particular attention should be paid to avoiding the unnecessary practise of pulling muddy anchors on board. These should be shaken clean before being lifted into the boat. Your assistance in this regard will be most appreciated.

Guiding & Tuition:

Why not take your own fishing further with a day out on the water with England Internationals and fishery staff Lee Henfrey or Tom Bird. Whether you wish to get to know the water better or hone a particular skill, our guides can help to improve your catch rates. Contact the visit the website www.flyfishguiding.co.uk for more information or book a slot call the lodge on 01788 812018.

Keep up to date with the latest catches and fishing posts from our in-house fishery ranger and guide Tom Bird, by following him on Facebook. Tom has been catching some great fish this season and posting pictures of the fish as well as a light write up on how he has been catching them.

With warmer conditions upon us, and the promise of more sunshine to come, we were expecting a somewhat difficult week with perhaps a drop in rod numbers. Far from it, indeed in my time here at Draycote I can’t recall a busier period than the one we are having right now. Rod averages, despite the weather conditions have remained pretty high, and both boat and bank anglers are reporting on some great sport from just about everywhere on the reservoir. Even through the flat calms and bright sunshine, some bank anglers, with a bit of perseverance, are writing in double figure returns. The weekly rod average was 3.6

On Monday season permit holder Ed Douglas ventured out in a boat and netted 29 fish, 12 of them coming to dries, the other 17 of Ed’s fish fell to nymph techniques fished around Rainbow Corner and the outlet. Mr M Pearce and Mr E Booth caught over 30 fish each, again from a drifting boat. The boat pairing of Mr J and Mr L Maplethorpe had 16 fish each to the boat on diawl bachs and buzzers. Mr James Kavanagh caught 13 fish from the bank, fishing along the cornfield and also on the overflow. James and Lee Maplethorpe enjoyed good sport fishing around the inlet on the Draycote dam using buzzer, nymphs and gold heads fished on a floating line. The pair landed 16 fish each with lovely specimens up to 4lb. Keeping it on the Maplethorpe family Ken Maplethorpe had a great day in another boat with Jim Smith landing 12 fish using the same tactics as James, what a great way to spend your Birthday. Mike Mclintic enjoyed good sport out on the boat with Gary Owen. The pair landing over 30 fish to the boat with dries, washing line, and sunk line tactics.

Tuesday light winds and overcast skies in the morning provided some excellent top of the water sport, however the sun did break in the afternoon which pushed the fish down slightly. Out on the water first thing was Fisher Ranger Tom Bird, guiding Derek Walker, with the aim to improve Derek’s dry fly tactics. Derek enjoyed fantastic sport in the four-hour session landing 11 fish to the boat on big reds and crippled midge. Drifting in the middle of the lake around P buoy, X buoy and Y buoy. On the bank Nick Louka landed 7 cracking fish from Rainbow corner using washing line tactics with small buzzers and crunchers. Also on the bank fishing the swans nest in Toft Mr Terry Tappengden landed 7 fish christen his new Sage Accell, Terry used nymphs fished on a floating line. Mr McIntosh & Mr Taggart landed 40 fish to the boat fishing in Biggin Bay and Toft using apps bloodworms fished on intermediate lines. Father and son team Mr M Mee & Mr D Mee, fished in Biggin Bay and Toft Shallows landing 24 and 35 fish all on nymphs and buzzers fished on floating line, a great way to start of a three day package. Richard Pelly took advantage of the last four hours using dries off the end of the boil line to land 6 fish including a fantastic 5lb overwintered rainbow. Ben Thompson and Gary Turner also fished the last four hours on dries to land 19 fish to the boat, amazing sport in such a short space of time. Tuesday also saw Midlands police fishing their regional competition. 9 boats competed with the winner being Mick Cartridge of Staffordshire who took 37 fish fishing down the cornfield on a 3 inch per second sinking line using blobs and cats whiskers.

A very hot day with near flat calm conditions greeted the anglers on Wednesday looked like the fishing would be difficult, however despite these conditions the rod average for the day remained at 5.74. On the bank Mr C.J Day enjoyed great sport landing 15 fish from the cornfield landing 15 fish on buzzers and lures. Also on the bank Mr Bettles landed 9 fish from Duns Bay using white and green lures. Out on the boats season ticket holder Ed Douglas returned and landed 35 fish 22 of which were on dries, Ed found the fish through the middle and also in rainbow corner. Another boat doing well was that of Richard Dayman and Norman Perkins who landed 22 fish using floating lines and buzzers then a di 3 and lures in the afternoon. Draycote regular Eugene Hughes once again took the train up from London and enjoyed fantastic sport. Eugene landed 36 fish using nymphs and dries on a floating line and lures fished on a di3. Eugene found the fish around the tower then in the middle. M Mee and D Mee where again into the fish on small buzzers and diawl bachs landing 35 fish to the boat. John Hood and Darren Booth enjoyed great sport fishing dries from the tower down to rainbow corner then around P buoy, X buoy and Y buoy. Crippled midges, big reds, CDC shuttlecocks and daddies where the pairs best patterns.

Another very hot sunny day Thursday, however despite the hot conditions the fishing continued in the same form with the rod average coming out at 8.3. Season ticket holder Dennis Jones enjoyed a good mornings sport from the bank landing 6 fish from the far side of Toft using a floating line with small black buzzers fished on a washing line. Also on the bank Ian Richardson landed 9 fish from Rainbow corner using a floating line with buzzers and snail patterns. Fishing their final day of the three day break Dave and Mike Mee again enjoyed great sport using small buzzer in Toft and Lincroft Point. Mr McIntosh and Mr Taggart again caught well landing 29 fish to the boat all on buzzers. Mr S Livingstone & Mr E Livingstone also caught well landing 38 between them using the same tactics. Mr A Borthwick & Mr J Malcom enjoyed great sport again on buzzers fished in Biggin Bay, Toft and Lincroft Point landing 48 fish between the pair of them. The same tactics where employed by Mr S Mclean & Mr I Mackie to tempt 38 to the boat. Matt Harris again found buzzers the way, although matt utilised the washing line technique with a small FAB on the point. Matt also used caught 9 fish on shipman’s.

Friday saw another warm sunny day however, there was slightly more wind coming from the East. Out on the warm we have the North- West police regional competition. With forces from Cheshire, Greater Manchester and Lancashire taking part. Cheshire took the top sport with GMP second and Lancashire third. The top bags came from anglers fishing from the jetty along last the sailing club using 5 inch per second sinking lines and a team of blobs and FABS. Richard Hood was the top rod of the competition landing with 10 fish limit (6 kill then 4 C/R) within the first hour of the competition. Outside of the police competition season ticket holder Peter Elliot boat partner Lee Patten landed 45 fish to the boat drifting from open water towards rainbow corner then across Biggin bay and Toft. A party of Belgium anglers caught well fishing over the cornfield and down into toft using floating and intermediate lines with either nymphs or minkie boobies with many anglers in the group hitting over 25 fish.

Saturday was bright with blustery conditions and whilst there was a threat of showers they didn’t appear. This made the fishing slightly more challenging than had been in previous days. With the England qualifier, the next day a number of anglers kept there card close to the chest regarding areas and methods. Craig Barr and Andy Axon enjoyed food sport landing over 20 fish the boat, using washing line and dries, the best areas for the pair where in Toft, Biggin and Rainbow corner. Season ticket holders Eddie Mitchell and Dave Kennel also caught well despite the conditions using washing line and straight-line nymph techniques down in Toft shallows.

Sunday started with a strong westerly but this petered out as the wind swung into the north, leaving the rest of the day overcast with good conditions. Sunday also saw the England qualifier, with 36 anglers competing for the top 30-40% going through to the national final at Rutland Water on the 2/3 September. The rod average for the competition came out at 9.25, the top rod for the day was Vince Howley who used buzzers under the bung to land 22 fish. Vince fished in Toft drifting from G buoy down towards the nature reserve buoys at the bottom. In second place was Mick McLintic who landed 21 fish using a di 7 sinking lines with a team of mini lures and blobs. In third place was Martin Introna with 19 fish, again from Toft. In fourth place Stephen Peart landed 17 using buzzers under the bung but this time from Biggin Bay. The Draycote team wish all the qualifiers from the competition the best of luck in the national final in September. Outside the competition regular Jim Smith had a fantastic day’s sport landing 32 fish, Jim had 12 fish on buzzers from near the outlet in the morning before switching to dries in the afternoon. Jim found the fish around the aerators in the afternoon with his best patterns being big reds in size 12 and crippled midge.

Weekly Boat draw:

Congratulations to Mr Mark Rose of Northallerton who is the winner of this week’s free boat draw.

Weekly Stats:

Number Rods: 450 Number Trout Taken: 713 Number Trout Released: 1881

Total Catch: 2594 Weekly Rod Average: 3.6

Current Fishing Times:

Bank: 07:30 until : 21:30

Boat All Day: 08:30 until 21:30

Boat Part Day: AM 08:30 until 15:00 PM 15:00 until 21:30

Last 4 Hours from: 17:30 until 21:30 (Ticket sales available from 17:15)

Gutting Room Closes: 21:00

All Anglers to be off site by: 22:00

Damaged Trees

There are a number of trees on Lincroft point which have been deliberately damaged. Upon inspection it looks like someone has used a saw to remove branches on the path leading down to the water. Anglers are not allowed to take or damage any bushes or trees within the boundary of the site. If you do feel that your fishing is hindered by any of the growth around the bank you should bring this to our attention and allow us to deal with it in conjunction with the rangers.

Fishery News

Tuition Days- Beginners Courses

Saturday 10th June Hosted by Jim Williams of Vision Tackle. Currently fully booked

Sunday 11th June Hosted by Jim Williams of Vision Tackle. Currently four places available

Saturday 8th July Hosted by Kevin Hart and Tom Bird. Currently six places available

Saturday 14th October Hosted by Kevin Hart and Tom Bird. Currently six places available

Call the lodge on 01788 812018 to book or for further information

Trout Masters

Draycote has joined the Troutmasters Competition. Entry forms can be found next to the booking out sheets. You will need a member of staff to countersign your entry. Good luck!

Our hard pressed team strive to maintain the boats to a high standard of cleanliness. Anglers are kindly requested to respect their endeavours by keeping their vessels shipshape & litter free. Particular attention should be paid to avoiding the unnecessary practise of pulling muddy anchors on board. These should be shaken clean before being lifted into the boat. Your assistance in this regard will be most appreciated.

Guiding & Tuition:

Why not take your own fishing further with a day out on the water with England Internationals and fishery members of staff Lee Henfrey and Tom Bird. Whether you wish to get to know the water better or hone a particular skill, our guides can help to improve your catch rates. Contact the visit the website www.flyfishguiding.co.uk for more information or book a slot call the lodge on 01788 812018.

Keep up to date with the latest catches and fishing posts from our in-house fishery ranger and guide Tom Bird, by following him on Facebook. Tom has been catching some great fish this season and posting pictures of the fish as well as a light write up on how he has been catching them..

A very mixed bag with regards to weather this week, from torrential rain one minute to sunny spells the next, it certainly would be classed as changeable spring conditions. This made the fishing tricky at times as the method of catching could suddenly change, from dries one minute in the flat to pulling lures or wets in a good ripple the next. The weekly rod average was 7.0.

The week started with a very blustery day, mixed with heavy showers at times. Out on the boats Rod Wilson utilised the rudder to catch over 25 fish. Rod caught fish all over the lake, although the hotspot seemed to be the inlet, with his best line being a Di 3 with gold and silver tubes. Also, catching well from the boats was Mr Blatchford who landed 15 fish from Rainbow Corner using black CDC shuttlecocks. Also, out on the boats fishing Rainbow Corner was Mr James & Mr Carter wo had 20 fish to the boat including 2 cracking 4lb fish taken on washing line tactics. On the bank, Mr walker fished in Rainbow Corner using a washing line to tempt 5 cracking fish.

Tuesday saw the windy drop slightly from Monday, with overcast and showers for most of the day. Mr Darlow fished in Rainbow corner and like many others commented on the amount of fish moving, although while several anglers struggled to catch the obviously preoccupied fish, Mr Darlow found the method to catch the fish and enjoyed great sport landing 15 fish all before 2pm. Mr Darlow found that the fish wanted skinny size 12 plain hare’s ears, fished on a washing line. Mr C.J Day also enjoyed a good day’s sport landing 11 fish with a split coming from Toft at the Swans nest and then in Rainbow Corner. Mr Day found the fish wanted a mixture of nymphs, buzzers and damsels. Out on the boats season ticket holder Colin England & Tony Plummer enjoyed good sport fishing near the overflow in Rainbow Corner landing 17 between them on buzzers and nymphs fished on a floating line.

Wednesday the heavens opened with rain all day, testing even the best of waterproofs. Despite the horrific weather conditions, it proved to be the best fishing day of the week with anglers having red letter days. Mr Richard Wheel, Nick Moan, Ian Tearle and Andy Campbell all recorded cricket score s from the boat. They all found the fish in the mood to chase lures on either intermediate or floating lines down the Farnborough Dam wall. Mr George and Mr Lewis enjoyed a good morning sport landing 29 fish before the constant rain became too much for them at lunch. The pair found the fish up in rainbow corner and where willing to take washing lined nymphs, fished from a floating line. Mr Farrell enjoyed good sport from the bank taking 8 fish from Rainbow corner on the washing line with nymphs and buzzers.

Thursday saw possibly the best day of the week, with warm sun and light winds with cloud around to help the fish rise for most of the day. Tony Broadway fished the banking using a washing with a small FAB with buzzers to land 20 fish. Also on the bank alongside Tony was Jude Tuffs who used similar tactics to land 8 fish. Out on the boats Peter Elliot fished for a morning session to land 10 fish from Dunns bay using lures and then dries. Another pair taking advantage of a morning boat was Ron Beavan and Ted Mills who landed 20 fish between them using buzzer on a floating line from Rainbow Corner. Dave Smith took to the water landing 12 fish from Rainbow corner and Toft Shallows. Rainbow was the hotspot in the morning, with his best method being buzzers on a floating line. His catch included a 5lb rainbow from near the outlet. Season ticket holders Eddie Mitchell and Dave Kennell took to the water in boat to land 29 fish, the pair fished a washing line with a FAB on the point with a team of nymphs to tempt fish from all areas of the lake. Toft and Rainbow Corner were the hotpots. Another angler out the boats was regular Jim Smith who enjoyed a fantastic day’s sport landing 38 fish. Jim fished a washing line with a small biscuit FAB on the point and a team of diawl bachs and buzzers. He then landed 12 fish on dries with the best pattern being a size 12 claret crippled midges. Jim found the fish around the inlet and out towards B buoy over the deeper water.

Friday saw the return of the rain, with showers here for most of the day, the wind changed a bit as well with periods of flat calm. As a result, the fishing was again changeable with dries working one minute in the flat calm, to pulling lures when the wind increased. On the bank, Ian Richardson had as he described it a “Red Letter Day” landing a fantastic 31 fish. Ian fished in a variety of spots with Toft and Rainbow corner being the pick of the bunch. The tactics Ian employed where to fish small buzzer and snail patterns from a floating line. Another season ticket holder enjoyed good sport but this time from the boats it was Ed Douglas who landed 25 fish with 18 of them coming to dries including some cracking fish of around 4lb. Out on the bank at Rainbow Corner John Dews enjoyed great sport having 16 hard fighting fish, using a small tequila FAB and buzzers. Another boat catching well was the father and son team of Richard & John Hood who landed 20 fish to the boat using a variety of method from dries to pulling lures. The pair found the fish at Rainbow corner then out in the middle. Airflo’s Gareth Jones was out on a boat filming and doing an article with Peter Gathercole. Gareth enjoyed great sport landing over 25 fish on small CDC pattern out in the middle including some fantastic fish up to 4lb.

Saturday was bright with light breezes and whilst there was a threat of showers they didn’t appear. Both boat and bank anglers enjoyed excellent sport with season permit holders Paul Walley and Mike Garner netting good numbers from the bank on muskins and diawl bachs in biggin bay and rainbow corner. Jim Hall also had a good haul from the bank on buzzers. Mr John Pearson had an excellent evening session, netting 6 good fish from the bank in various spots along the north shore. Mr R Kingscott also fishing from the bank, netted 8 fish on diawl bachs. The boat pairing of Draycote regulars Ivor Jones and Jim Dempsey had a good day out bringing 22 fish to the boat, and returning fish up to 5lbs. Both Sean and Michael Hanlon caught and released over 40 fish from a boat. Tony Harris caught 30 fish from a boat. Ronnie Gent and Martin Rowson caught 25 fish from a drifting boat on a wide variety of patterns such as buzzers and diawl bachs. The boat pairing of Mr K Sichi and Mr M Ritchie caught well over 40 fish from a boat using a FAB and buzzers.

Sunday started with light southerly breezes and sunny conditions and looked like it could be a good day for fishing, we turned out to be right. With one of the highest daily rod averages of the week at 9.2, there were a lot of tired but happy anglers at the end of the day. The bank seemed slow to begin with, possibly due to the chilly start to the day, but it picked up very quickly from midday onwards. Mr Tim Davies had 16 fish from the bank down in toft. Mr Alan Grant caught 7 from the bank. Draycote regular Mr Ray Cramp also did well from the bank netting 8 fish in an afternoon session. The best return from the bank came from Mr J Bellamy, who had over 30 fish from the swans nest on PTN’s and buzzers. The boats seemed to fair slightly better overall with some returns well into double figures. Kirby Fly Fishers had a club competition in which 16 anglers caught a total of 84 fish, producing a rod average of 5.2. Other notables of the day were Mr D Norrie with 20 fish to the boat on a black and green zonker and black buzzers. The boat pairing of Mr D Mcintosh and Mr P Taggart had 37 fish to the boat. The rest of Mr Mcintosh’s party did extremely well, with all of them reaching well into double figures.

Weekly Boat draw:

Congratulations to Mr Gary Owen of Coalville who is the winner of this week’s free boat draw.

Weekly Stats:

Number Rods: 372 Number Trout Taken: 593 Number Trout Released: 2045

Total Catch: 2638 Weekly Rod Average: 7.0

Current Fishing Times:

Bank: 07:30 until : 21:30

Boat All Day: 08:30 until 21:30

Boat Part Day: AM 08:30 until 15:00 PM 15:00 until 21:30

Last 4 Hours from: 17:30 until 21:30 (Ticket sales available from 17:15)

Gutting Room Closes: 21:00

All Anglers to be off site by: 22:00

Damaged Trees

There are a number of trees on Lincroft point which have been deliberately damaged. Upon inspection it looks like someone has used a saw to remove branches on the path leading down to the water. Anglers are not allowed to take or damage any bushes or trees within the boundary of the site. If you do feel that your fishing is hindered by any of the growth around the bank you should bring this to our attention and allow us to deal with it in conjunction with the rangers.

Fishery News

Tuition Days- Beginners Courses

Saturday 10th June Hosted by Jim Williams of Vision Tackle. Currently fully booked

Sunday 11th June Hosted by Jim Williams of Vision Tackle. Currently four places available

Saturday 8th July Hosted by Kevin Hart and Tom Bird. Currently six places available

Saturday 14th October Hosted by Kevin Hart and Tom Bird. Currently six places available

Call the lodge on 01788 812018 to book or for further information

Trout Masters

Draycote has joined the Troutmasters Competition. Entry forms can be found next to the booking out sheets. You will need a member of staff to countersign your entry. Good luck!

Our hard pressed team strive to maintain the boats to a high standard of cleanliness. Anglers are kindly requested to respect their endeavours by keeping their vessels shipshape & litter free. Particular attention should be paid to avoiding the unnecessary practise of pulling muddy anchors on board. These should be shaken clean before being lifted into the boat. Your assistance in this regard will be most appreciated.

Guiding & Tuition:

Why not take your own fishing further with a day out on the water with England Internationals and fishery members of staff Lee Henfrey and Tom Bird. Whether you wish to get to know the water better or hone a particular skill, our guides can help to improve your catch rates. Contact the visit the website www.flyfishguiding.co.uk for more information or book a slot call the lodge on 01788 812018.

Keep up to date with the latest catches and fishing posts from our in-house fishery ranger and guide Tom Bird, by following him on Facebook. Tom has been catching some great fish this season and posting pictures of the fish as well as a light write up on how he has been catching them..

Whilst some truly excellent sport has been enjoyed by many this week, we still await that hoped for period of settled, warm late spring weather. Changeable conditions still seem intent on persisting. Nevertheless 409 anglers recorded the capture of a total of 1949 trout for the week representing an overall rod average of 4·76.

Monday witnessed a fantastic start to this reporting period for the boat anglers with a diversity of tactics proving that the trout were well & truly on the feed. A good number of anglers recorded double figure returns on dries, such as season rod Ed Douglas who netted thirty. Messrs McGinley & Pelini also brought some 50 to the net, mostly on diawl bachs fished in conjunction with a FAB blob. Rod Wilson fished large lures on the rudder for a 22 fish total for the day. Eugene Hughes also fished lures from his boat with sink rate 5 & 7 lines over deep water near the Tower & was also into big numbers. The banks however struggled with fish seeming to hold just out of casting reach. That improved on Tuesday when Jude Tuffs took 7 rainbows on buzzers fished under a bung from the bank at Lin Croft. Tony Broadway fished his buzzer team straight to net 8, while Ray Cramp stuck to lures on the bank at Dunns & booked out an 8 fish limit for just 23lbs. Temperatures were held back though with an early morning northerly wind swinging east north east as the day progressed. Unfortunately, a substantial number of boat anglers failed to book out as required which distorts the returns downwards. However, season rods Colin England & Tony Plummer enjoyed a good day netting 20 & 15 respectively to nymphs, while Eugene Hughes was back on the water – this time catching good numbers on dries – in the vicinity of A & B buoys. The morning boat of Ron Beavan & Ted Mills also saw action with 12 buzzer caught fish to the net including rainbows at 4lbs & 5lbs for Ron.

Wednesday saw a dip in the rod average to 3·9, mainly due to weather conditions. Always nice to see Dennis Jones back on the water & he managed 5 from the bank to his small diawl bachs during his usual morning session. John Woodcock netted a creditable 7 on his Last Four Hour permit too. Best rods out in the boats were Ed Douglas (that man again!) – this time with 14 to his dries. He was closely followed by Ian Morris, afloat in Biggin Bay using diawl bachs & gold ribbed hare’s ears to land a dozen. Thursday saw action throughout the venue for bank & boat anglers alike. Mr Bray had an excellent morning on the bank with a nine fish tally whilst Stan Hillman bank fished the afternoon into the evening and landed 10. Peter Fisher boat fished using both black & green buzzer patterns for an 8 fish limit which included a 6lbs rainbow. He released a further 14 fish. John Dickens was also amongst the action with his buzzer & FAB blob combination brining 23 to the net. In the evening Richard Pelly substituted his usual Big Red for a “Big Black” dry and landed 7. The boats have been out fishing the banks as one would expect as the season progresses however, Mr Richards enjoyed fine bank sport on Friday with a 12 fish catch to buzzers & snail patterns. Jim & Richard Hall also enjoyed a short mid day spell on the bank together ending with 8 & 7 respectively. Amongst the boat anglers out on Friday was Mat Harris who concentrated on dry fly action taking 13 on Shipmans & Crippled Midge patterns. The DFFA held an evening bank match & congratulations to the performances of Dave Atkins & John Hanlon who landed 9 apiece.

Very few anglers were on the banks on Saturday, but some of the anglers were reporting significant numbers of fish in both Toft & Rainbow Corner surface feeding very close to the margins. All commented however, that they were proving exceptionally hard to tempt! In the boats Craig Cowan’s party were enjoying terrific sport to dries, mainly on drifts out over open water. It has been a great week for visiting anglers enjoying our three day package breaks. With groups from all four home nations this week it was interesting to note that half of the fleet on Saturday was booked out with such groups. Ian Earle topped the returns sheet for the day having had a magnificent day on the dries for 30+ fish. It was terrific to welcome Rio’s Simon Gawesworth & Jim Fearn from Sage to our open day on Saturday which was really well attended. Many anglers relished the opportunity to try a huge variety of specialist rods & lines available on the day & take best advice from such experts in their field. Many also relished the opportunity to go afloat on 90 minute guided sessions with members of the Draycote Rio Masters Team & put tackle of their choice to the test. The day was a great success, we will repeat it next year & our thanks go to Simon & Jim as well as John Legg of Guide Fly Fishing.

Sunday brought us strong westerly winds with sunny spells which made for tough fishing conditions. The few bank anglers that did venture out were again frustrated by sighting plenty of fish feeding near the surface but proving hard to attract to anything other than a speeding lure. The boat anglers found it tough going as well, but with a bit of persistence and lateral thinking, some returned good catches. Lord Richard Dayman had 10 fish to the boat on buzzers. Mr C Traverne had 12 fish on buzzers. Mr Craig Cowans party did exceptionally well on a wide variety of patterns, with each individual reaching well into double figures from drifting boats. Mr Robert Balls party also returned some great numbers from Rainbow corner, mainly on buzzer patterns.

Weekly Boat draw:

Congratulations to Mr Rod Wilson of Ibstock who is the winner of this week’s free boat draw.

Weekly Stats:

Number Rods:409 Number Trout Taken: 546 Number Trout Released: 1403

Total Catch: 1949 Weekly Rod Average: 4.76

Current Fishing Times:

Bank: 07:30 until : 21:15

Boat All Day: 08:30 until 21:15

Boat Part Day: AM 08:30 until 15:00 PM 15:00 until 21:15

Last 4 Hours from: 17:15 until 21:15 (Ticket sales available from 17:00)

Gutting Room Closes: 20:45

All Anglers to be off site by: 21:45

Damaged Trees

There are a number of trees on Lincroft point which have been deliberately damaged. Upon inspection it looks like someone has used a saw to remove branches on the path leading down to the water. Anglers are not allowed to take or damage any bushes or trees within the boundary of the site. If you do feel that your fishing is hindered by any of the growth around the bank you should bring this to our attention and allow us to deal with it in conjunction with the rangers.

Fishery News

Tuition Days- Beginners Courses

Sunday 21st May Hosted by Kevin Hart & Tom Bird Currently one space available

Saturday 10th June Hosted by Jim Williams of Vision Tackle. Currently four spaces available

Sunday 11th June Hosted by Jim Williams of Vision Tackle. Currently four spaces available

Call the lodge on 01788 812018 to book or for further information

Trout Masters

Draycote has joined the Troutmasters Competition. Entry forms can be found next to the booking out sheets. You will need a member of staff to countersign your entry. Good luck!

Our hard pressed team strive to maintain the boats to a high standard of cleanliness. Anglers are kindly requested to respect their endeavours by keeping their vessels shipshape & litter free. Particular attention should be paid to avoiding the unnecessary practise of pulling muddy anchors on board. These should be shaken clean before being lifted into the boat. Your assistance in this regard will be most appreciated.

Guiding & Tuition:

Why not take your own fishing further with a day out on the water with England Internationals and fishery members of staff Lee Henfrey and Tom Bird. Whether you wish to get to know the water better or hone a particular skill, our guides can help to improve your catch rates. Contact the visit the website www.flyfishguiding.co.uk for more information or book a slot call the lodge on 01788 812018.

Keep up to date with the latest catches and fishing posts from our in-house fishery ranger and guide Tom Bird, by following him on Facebook. Tom has been catching some great fish this season and posting pictures of the fish as well as a light write up on how he has been catching them..

With slightly cooler temperatures this week Draycote has seen a bit of a mixed bag as far as fishing is concerned. Monday and Tuesday seemed fine, but quite a cold north easterly wind with sometimes very bright conditions seemed to slow things down from Wednesday onwards. There were some good buzzer hatches around to start with, but these started to thin out as the week went by. Only a slight drop in wind speed over Saturday and Sunday helped the fishing to improve. Over the weekend swallows could be seen feeding on the wing at the bottom of Toft shallows, to be followed very quickly by trout feeding right in the surface of the water. Bank anglers reported that the fishing was still a bit hit and miss however, with only a few of them managing any more than a brace. The boats seemed to fair a bit better, having the ability to cover fish out in the deeper water. General feedback from the anglers was that there were plenty of fish showing in the surface in Toft and in Biggin bay, but they were proving difficult to catch. Those anglers who kept on the move and patiently went through the patterns seemed to fair better. The middle and the deeper parts of the reservoir are now producing some good over wintered specimens and on the right day, dries such as Crippled Midge and Bobs Bits are accounting for some good catches. Drifts around P buoy over middle shoal and X buoy to the Farborough dam have worked very well. There have also been some good fish caught by D buoy in Biggin Bay and of course F buoy over Croft Shoal. The weekly rod average was 5.1

On Monday Mr Phil Davies caught 25 fish from a boat, drifting in the Cornfield. Mr P Donegan and Mr M Sloss had some “Amazing fishing” on boobies, blobs and buzzers. Draycote regular Mick Cronin had 11 fish from the bank. Season permit holder Mick Hanlon had 9 fish from the bank on a mayfly nymph and a blue damsel. Season permit holder Mr Martin Hancox caught 6 fish from the bank during an evening session.

Tuesday proved a better day for fishing with Ed Douglas netting 15 of his 20 fish from the boat on dries. Jim Smith also did well from a boat, netting over 20 fish on a washing line and buzzers. Draycote regular Eugene Hughes had over 30 fish to the boat on a humungus whilst fishing around the tower and in biggin bay. The bank anglers did well with Mr Alan Bettles catching 16 fish in Dunns bay on a white and green lure. Season permit holder Tony Broadway caught 11 fish from the bank. Steve Gibson did very well during an evening session netting 10 fish from the bank.

After a cold start Wednesday proved yet again to be one of the best days of the week producing a rod average of nearly 7.0. It was good to see season permit holder Dennis Jones back out on the water, netting 7 fish from the bank on diawl bachs. Mr S Summers commented on “An excellent day” out on a boat having caught 10 fish. Mr I Morris caught 16 fish from a boat using buzzers and diawl bachs. A Police inter clubs match took place on Wednesday with Sussex A team taking first place. Best bag of the day went to Mr Paddy O’Grady with 8 fish for 24lbs 4 oz.

Thursday was very windy with heavy gusts and bright sunny conditions. Despite this Peter Elliott managed 12 fish from the bank in the Cornfield. Paul Beasley caught 11 from the bank on buzzers. Eddie Mitchell and Dave Kennel did really well from the bank netting over 20 fish between them. Season permit holder John Hanlon caught 6 fish from the bank on an evening session.

On Friday it was very windy again with some tough fishing conditions. This didn’t hamper things for Mr Andy Croucher though, who had 20 fish to the boat in Toft on buzzers, blobs and a black hopper. The boat pairing of Mr R Jones and Mr T Ham also did very well with 25 fish to the boat between them. Friday also saw the arrival of Steve McGregors party visiting us from Scotland on a three day package. The lads endured some tough, sometimes very choppy conditions with most of them catching well into double figures each day on various lures and snake patterns.

On Saturday the conditions improved a bit with Mr D Keir netting 12 fish from a boat. Mr R Ball also did well with 21 fish to the boat. Draycote regular Steve Conway also had a good day out in a boat with 13 fish on buzzers and diawl bachs. Mr G McGinlay and Mr G Pelini had 28 fish to the boat between them. Jim Hall caught caught 6 fish from the bank, whilst Steve Gibson had 5 fish from the bank in an afternoon session.

On Sunday Mr D Lang caught 20 fish from a boat on black buzzer. Mr Phillip Davies netted 11 fish from a boat. Mr A Davison had 17 fish to the boat on black buzzers. Draycote regular Jim Smith caught 16 fish from a boat on buzzers and dries.

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Weekly Boat draw:

Congratulations to Mr Bob Wallinger of Lincoln who is the winner of this week’s free boat draw.

Weekly Stats:

Number Rods: 324 Number Trout Taken: 528 Number Trout Released: 1131

Total Catch: 1659 Weekly Rod Average: 5.1

Current Fishing Times:

Bank: 07:30 until : 21:00

Boat All Day: 08:30 until 21:00

Boat Part Day: AM 08:30 until 14:45 PM 14:45 until 21:00

Last 4 Hours from: 17:00 until 21:00 (Ticket sales available from 16:45)

Gutting Room Closes: 20:30

All Anglers to be off site by: 21:30

Fishery News

SAGE AND RIO DAY THIS COMING SATURDAY

Saturday 13th May 2017 Meet Simon Gawsworth & Jim Fearn 10:00 to 16:00 hrs Our Draycote guides will also be taking to the water along with representatives from Sage & Rio Products. We offer you the opportunity to book a complimentary fly fishing session afloat or on the pontoon with a member of the team using a SAGE rod matched with a RIO fly line of your choice. With less than two weeks to go andlimited slots remaining. Reserve your free place by calling the lodge on 01788 812018.

Tuition Days- Beginners Courses

Sunday 21st May Hosted by Kevin Hart & Tom Bird Currently one space available

Saturday 10th June Hosted by Jim Williams of Vision Tackle. Currently four spaces available

Sunday 11th June Hosted by Jim Williams of Vision Tackle. Currently four spaces available

Call the lodge on 01788 812018 to book or for further information

Trout Masters

Draycote has joined the Troutmasters Competition. Entry forms can be found next to the booking out sheets. You will need a member of staff to countersign your entry. Good luck!

Our hard pressed team strive to maintain the boats to a high standard of cleanliness. Anglers are kindly requested to respect their endeavours by keeping their vessels shipshape & litter free. Particular attention should be paid to avoiding the unnecessary practise of pulling muddy anchors on board. These should be shaken clean before being lifted into the boat. Your assistance in this regard will be most appreciated.

Guiding & Tuition:

Why not take your own fishing further with a day out on the water with England Internationals and fishery members of staff Lee Henfrey and Tom Bird. Whether you wish to get to know the water better or hone a particular skill, our guides can help to improve your catch rates. Contact the visit the website www.flyfishguiding.co.uk for more information or book a slot call the lodge on 01788 812018.

Keep up to date with the latest catches and fishing posts from our in-house fishery ranger and guide Tom Bird, by following him on Facebook. Tom has been catching some great fish this season and posting pictures of the fish as well as a light write up on how he has been catching them..

Under very changeable conditions Draycote has once again had an excellent week, with the rod average rising to 10 by Wednesday. Fish are being caught just about everywhere, with dries accounting for lots of over wintered fish in open water. Buzzers, Diawl Bachs and Crunchers are all working extremely well, but with patience, Boobies and snakes on a DI5 or DI7 are yielding some cracking over wintered fish from the deeper parts of the reservoir. Both the Draycote and Farborough Dam remain a focal point for this method, with the latter producing the largest Brown of the season so far, weighing in at 8lbs.

The bank anglers are having some of the best sport of the season, with some great catches coming from the more popular areas along the north shore and Toft shallows. Unfortunately Rainbow corner has been coloured for most of the season, but should start to fish well now that the pumps are turned off. Rainbow is teaming with good over wintered fish, which so far this season have been caught by boat anglers fishing the clearer water further out in the reservoir. The weekly rod average was 4.5.

On Monday, season permit holder Ed Douglas had a total of 18 fish to the boat, 13 of them on dries. Paul Beasley had 8 fish from the bank on Damsels. Kevin Rees caught 19 fish from the bank in Dunns Bay and Lincroft point.

Tuesday turned out to be a busy day after a slow start with both boat and bank anglers doing equally as well as each other. Season permit holder Ian Richardson commented on “ An excellent day” , netting 12 fish from the bank on buzzers. Draycote regular Mike Oliver had a “ Hard but fun day” catching 21 fish from the bank, again on buzzers. Mr Tommy Carroll caught 8 fish from the bank on a small white lure. Mr P Barnes caught 8 fish from the bank on an olive hot tailed zonker. Tuesday also saw the arrival from Ireland of Mr Phillip Creshams party. The group consisted of 5 anglers on a 3 day package who, during their stay caught over 300 fish between them. Looking forward to seeing you all back next year.

On Wednesday we had 4 seasons in one day here which included sleet and snow. Season permit holder Mr Colin Grainger caught 12 fish from the bank on buzzers. Mr G thorns caught 10 fish from the bank on buzzers and diawl bachs. Boat anglers Mr Dave Heseltine and Mr Mark Evans had 26 fish on buzzers, mainly in Toft shallows, with one Blue which weighed in at 4 lbs. Draycote regulars Mr I Pugh and Mr T Whitchard caught 37 fish between them from a drifting boat.

By Thursday the weather had improved a tad but still proved a bit cold due to that icy northerly wind. Mr Alan Bettles still managed to whittle out 11 good fish from Dunns bay on lures. Mr R Walker and Mr N Barber caught 21 fish between them from a boat using pink lures. Season permit holder Mr Steve Gibson caught 6 fish during an evening session from the bank.

Friday was a much busier day with some of the regulars and permit holders retuning good catches. There was supposed to be a light southerly breeze but the water remained mirror calm all day. Tony Broadway had 14 fish from the bank. Ed Douglas caught 34 fish from a drifting boat. Paul Beasley had 13 fish from the bank on buzzers. Mr G Darlow caught 14 fish from the bank. Mr D Leonard caught 18 fish from a boat and commented on the “fantastic blues”. Mr R Hankins caught 9 fish on dries. Mr Howard and Mrs Marion Rutter caught a total of 22 fish between them from a boat, “all on buzzers”. Season permit holder Mr Tony Parker caught 15 fish from a drifting boat. Draycote regular Mr Jim Smith caught 11 fish from a boat on dries. Season permit holder Mr Dave Adkins caught 12 fish during an evening boat session.

Saturday turned out to be a good day for Mr Ifor Jones and Jim Dempsey. Not only did they boat 18 fish between them , but they got to see their good friend and fishing buddy Melvin Severn catch the biggest brown of Draycotes season so far, weighing in at 8 lbs, by the look on both their faces you could tell that they were so pleased for him.

Mr Gareth Dixon and Mr Christian Jones, visiting us from Clywedog Reservoir in Wales, had a great day out, catching in excess of 55 fish from a boat on the Bung. Season permit holder Mr Jim Hall caught 12 fish from the bank on buzzers. Mr Vince Aronika and his boat partner had 32 fish to the boat on a variety of methods such as DI5 and snakes, and a washing line with a FAB and buzzers.

Sunday dawned bright and breezy and saw the arrival of the England Ladies mixed pairs match. On what proved to be a very challenging day out on the water the pairs did exceptionally well, producing a competition rod average of 6.7. The results are as follows;

1st Place Eileen Chatwin and Graham Willis 16 fish for 42lbs 8oz

2nd Place Samantha Edmunds and Rob Edmunds.

3rd Place Jane Robinson and Paul Mitchell

The biggest fish of the competition was caught by Alan Riddell and weighed 4lbs.

Weekly Boat draw:

Congratulations to Mr Les Watson of Coventry who is the winner of this week’s free boat draw.

Weekly Stats:

Number Rods: 253 Number Trout Taken: 186 Number Trout Released: 947

Total Catch: 1133 Weekly Rod Average: 4.5

Current Fishing Times:

Bank: 07:30 until : 20:45

Boat All Day: 08:30 until 20:45

Boat Part Day: AM 08:30 until 14:30 PM 14:30 until 20:45

Last 4 Hours from: 16:45 until 20:45 (Ticket sales available from 16:30)

Gutting Room Closes: 20:15

All Anglers to be off site by: 21:15

Fishery News

Sage & Rio Day

Saturday 13th May 2017 Meet Simon Gawsworth & Jim Fearn 10:00 to 16:00 hrs Our Draycote guides will also be taking to the water along with representatives from Sage & Rio Products. We offer you the opportunity to book a complimentary fly fishing session afloat or on the pontoon with a member of the team using a SAGE rod matched with a RIO fly line of your choice. With less than two weeks to go andlimited slots remaining. Reserve your free place by calling the lodge on 01788 812018.

Tuition Days- Beginners Courses

Sunday 21st May Hosted by Kevin Hart & Tom Bird Currently two spaces available

Saturday 10th June Hosted by Jim Williams of Vision Tackle. Currently four spaces available

Sunday 11th June Hosted by Jim Williams of Vision Tackle. Currently four spaces available

Call the lodge on 01788 812018 to book or for further information

Trout Masters

Draycote has joined the Troutmasters Competition. Entry forms can be found next to the booking out sheets. You will need a member of staff to countersign your entry. Good luck!

Our hard pressed team strive to maintain the boats to a high standard of cleanliness. Anglers are kindly requested to respect their endeavours by keeping their vessels shipshape & litter free. Particular attention should be paid to avoiding the unnecessary practise of pulling muddy anchors on board. These should be shaken clean before being lifted into the boat. Your assistance in this regard will be most appreciated.

Guiding & Tuition:

Why not take your own fishing further with a day out on the water with England Internationals and fishery members of staff Lee Henfrey and Tom Bird. Whether you wish to get to know the water better or hone a particular skill, our guides can help to improve your catch rates. Contact the visit the website www.flyfishguiding.co.uk for more information or book a slot call the lodge on 01788 812018.

Keep up to date with the latest catches and fishing posts from our in-house fishery ranger and guide Tom Bird, by following him on Facebook. Tom has been catching some great fish this season and posting pictures of the fish as well as a light write up on how he has been catching them..

Another good spring week at Draycote, but we would welcome a period of sustained settled weather. This week anglers experienced some extreme conditions, varying from cold blustery winds, to bright sunshine & flat calms. Nevertheless, the black buzzer hatch continues with midge pupae remaining high on the trout’s menu. Action on dries has also been a significant factor this week, spearheaded by our own Tom Bird, who has been targeting large over wintered fish, mostly over open water in calm conditions.

Monday proved to be quite testing for the bank anglers, although Rob Keeber undoubtedly led the way with an 18 fish buzzer caught total. Out on the water the pairing of N & C Dunn switched between dries & buzzers & between them brought a total of 26 to the net. Monday was also the last session of a “Three Day Break” package for Mike & Dave Mee. They fished buzzers & diawls to land 18 for the day. They described their break as a “Fantastic 3 days – best ever!” – having caught a total of 78 trout using a mix of nymphs & dries. Andy & Ian George went afloat on Tuesday & got into action pulling snakes deeper in the water column. The tactic paid off with 9 & 11 to the boat respectively. Ray Cramp bank fished lures at Dunn’s Bay taking 7 rainbows for 17lbs with the best at 4lbs. Brian Warwick, also on the bank, stuck with his buzzer tactics to catch & release 15.

Wednesday saw the first of the week’s flat calms & sport proved to be most elusive for most bank anglers. However, Tom was out on the water early searching out grown on rainbows with his dries. He did experience a slowish morning but things picked up in the afternoon with Tom & boat partner Jim Smith ending the stint with 19 spectacular rainbows up to 6lbs to the net. Most of their fish came to a black crippled midge pattern fished out over open water. In contrast, Eugene Hughes pulled lures deep all over the venue to land over 30 up to 5lbs. Meanwhile, Colin Campbell, after fishing from his “Weekly Draw” prize boat with Mike Gillett, commented on their “great day on buzzers” with catches of 17 & 23. Season rod Paul Liversage took advice from Eugene, following an encounter on the water, & his subsequent change to deep lure tactics led to one of his best days with two dozen to the net!

Peter Elliott, Mike Garner, Kevin Rees & Ian Richardson all got well into double figures on the bank on Thursday, which was overcast with a gentle breeze. They all fished buzzer tactics with Peter recording two rainbows over 5lbs and a 5lbs+ brownie all caught & released. Kevin’s catch came to washing lined buzzer & included “two blue torpedoes”. (Most anglers who encounter the blues have been commenting on their fighting qualities). Eugene Hughes was back afloat & although part of his 25+ catch came to deep pulled lures once more, the overcast conditions led him to break out the dries as well. Toft & the Farborough Dam fished exceptionally well & anglers were all commenting on seeing rising fish everywhere. Thursday also saw the venue play host to the Greater Manchester Police with eight boats out. Their combined catch of 108 trout represented a rod average of 6·75 per man. They started their session on sunk line pulling tactics switching to nymphs, & later dries as the day warmed up & the buzzer hatch heightened. Friday peaked with a rod average for the day of 7·7 and great action on both bank & boat. Many bank anglers got into double figure catches with Mike Sinclair for example on 15, Ed Douglas 19, John Dews 15 & Tony Broadway on 21(including a 4lbs rainbow taken for the pot). Father & son team Jim & Richard Hall also both got into double figures on the bank. Buzzers washing lined with FAB blobs accounted for most fish, although Roger Davis fished damsels for his 9 fish total. Out in the boats rods were bending to all sorts of different tactics. Visiting us from Northern Ireland, Martin Allen & Paul Douglas began their “Three Day Break” with 25 & 20 to the boat on dries & buzzers taken along the Hensborough Bank. Mr Jones & Mr Branagar fished tubes on Di7 lines for 8 apiece as did our own Lee Henfrey who found 15 beauties deep during a midday stint. Chris Hart was into double figures & his catch included a 5lbs rainbow which took a Cat’s Whisker. The afternoon boat pairing of James Collins & Shaun Martin went even deeper with Di8s catching 19 & 11 respectively. James catch included a 5lbs rainbow, a 5lbs brown & two blues! Tom was afloat once more on his day off, again with Jim Smith, with both fishing dries all day. They had a spectacular session with both rods into double figures, including many wintered specimens. Again, the crippled midge was the top pattern in brown, black & claret. They found fish throughout the venue spending much of their session searching open water for rising fish. A total of 435 trout were recorded for the day!

Both Saturday & Sunday proved to be hard for the bank anglers with fish appearing to drop off the margins into deeper water. Cooler winds also led to many boat anglers reaching for their sinking lines & adopting pulling tactics and not everyone managed to find the answers. However, Graeme Bell’s party of 14, gathered from all over the country to be with us for the weekend, quickly found themselves into fish. They chose a diverse variety of tactics including dries, buzzer snakes & damsels reporting Rainbow Corner & Toft Shallows as their favoured areas. They caught a total of 190 on Saturday followed by a further 177 on Sunday, when Biggin Bay proved to be productive for them. Despite a slow morning, Andy Ross shared a boat with Dave Adams & enjoyed good sport in Toft from early afternoon once they anchored up & fished straight lined buzzer to bring 20 rainbows to the boat. It was also nice to welcome the Leicester Disabled Fly Fishers who shared five boats, including the Wheelyboat, and recorded a total catch of 51. Richard Walker also had a good day with blues of 5lbs 6oz & 4lbs 4ozs in his bag. Martin Allen & Paul Douglas finished their break on fine form too, this time with 40 to the boat on buzzers from Toft. That gave them a final tally of 105 netted during their annual 3 day spring break with us. (See you again soon guys!) A welcome drop in the wind, & creation of some slicks, led to some good evening dry fly action for a few of the Sunday boats – most especially the rod of Nick Board. He used a size 14 Adams in one such slick resulting in seven hook-ups & lots of follows.

The weatherman currently forecasts a few days of cold “polar air” with potential for wintery showers………when will spring properly arrive & stay

Weekly Boat draw:

Congratulations to Mr Owen Laye of Burbage who is the winner of this week’s free boat draw.

Weekly Stats:

Number Rods: 412 Number Trout Taken: 616 Number Trout Released: 1929

Total Catch: 2545 Weekly Rod Average: 6.17

Current Fishing Times:

Bank: 07:30 until : 20:30

Boat All Day: 08:30 until 20:30

Boat Part Day: AM 08:30 until 14:30 PM 14:30 until 20:30

Last 4 Hours from: 16:30 until 20:30 (Ticket sales available from 16:15)

Gutting Room Closes: 20:00

All Anglers to be off site by: 21:00

Fishery News

Sage & Rio Day

Saturday 13th May 2017 Meet Simon Gawsworth & Jim Fearn 10:00 to 16:00 hrs Our Draycote guides will also be taking to the water along with representatives from Sage & Rio Products. We offer you the opportunity to book a complimentary fly fishing session afloat or on the pontoon with a member of the team using a SAGE rod matched with a RIO fly line of your choice. Limited slots remaining. To reserve your free place, please call the lodge on 01788 812018.

Tuition Days- Beginners Courses

Saturday 6th MayHosted by Kevin Hart & Tom Bird Course now full

Sunday 21st May Hosted by Kevin Hart & Tom Bird Currently two spaces available

Saturday 10th June Hosted by Jim Williams of Vision Tackle. Currently four spaces available

Sunday 11th June Hosted by Jim Williams of Vision Tackle. Currently four spaces available

Call the lodge on 01788 812018 to book or for further information

Trout Masters

Draycote has joined the Troutmasters Competition. Entry forms can be found next to the booking out sheets. You will need a member of staff to countersign your entry. Good luck!

Our hard pressed team strive to maintain the boats to a high standard of cleanliness. Anglers are kindly requested to respect their endeavours by keeping their vessels shipshape & litter free. Particular attention should be paid to avoiding the unnecessary practise of pulling muddy anchors on board. These should be shaken clean before being lifted into the boat. Your assistance in this regard will be most appreciated.

Guiding & Tuition:

Why not take your own fishing further with a day out on the water with England Internationals and fishery members of staff Lee Henfrey and Tom Bird. Whether you wish to get to know the water better or hone a particular skill, our guides can help to improve your catch rates. Contact the visit the website www.flyfishguiding.co.uk For more information or to book a session call the lodge on 01788 812018.

Keep up to date with the latest catches and fishing posts from our in-house fishery ranger and guide Tom Bird, by following him on Facebook. Tom has been catching some great fish this season and posting pictures of the fish as well as a light write up on how he has been catching them..

Some tremendous sport experienced by many this week, peaking mid-week with a bonanza of a day on Thursday when a staggering 777 trout were recorded for the day! For the week as a whole, a total of 347 anglers visited the venue & caught 2563 trout for a rod average of 7.4.

Monday saw a great start to the week with a rod average of 12 fish. Dave East had his best session to date, christening his new Vision ONKI rod with 10 rainbows to buzzers both washing lined & fished under an indicator on Lin Croft. Newcomer to the venue, Mike Sinclair, is anxious to get amongst the “Troutmasters” badges! He also caught his best catch so far netting a total of 31 lure caught rainbows fishing an intermediate line from the bank on the lodge side of Toft. Meanwhile the boat of Alan Greenhalgh & Dave Heseltine saw consistent action to their black buzzers in Toft and they landed 16 & 23 respectively. Also enjoying the action in Toft was the boat pairing of Ken Whitehouse & Paul Burnell. They chose to pull lures on an intermediate line & netted 40 between them. Ray Cramp had a long day on the bank over in Biggin, making the most of non-stop feeding fish. He ended his session with a 36 fish tally, captured on a mix of lure & nymph tactics on a floating line.

Tuesday saw Tony Broadway hard at it on the bank fishing his black buzzers down to size 14s. He netted 22 rainbows. Fellow season rod Mike Garner also bank fished down in Toft landing 19 on Diawl Bachs. A couple of Mike’s fish topped the 5lbs mark. Peter Wyles & John Symonds took to the boat using a combination of black buzzer & Montana nymph & netted 11 apiece, whilst Andy Lane pulled blobs & damsels for a total of 28.

On Wednesday anglers were greeted by strong westerlies on a day when many had come to attend the official launch of the Draycote Wheely Boat. During 2016 a fundraising effort, spearheaded by one of our most valued members, assisted by a group of Draycote regulars & members and with the support of the fishery, led to the commissioning of a “Coulam Wheely Boat” ( see The Wheelyboat Trust at:- www.wheelyboat.org ) . As a fishery, we wish to thank all anglers who participated in fundraising events to successfully achieve our goal with special thanks for a valued donation from the Janet Nash Charitable Settlement.The vessel has now been built & sits on the water as a proud addition to the fleet following it’s official launch last Wednesday. It is a wheelchair accessible craft which will enable our mobility impaired anglers to enjoy the freedom of getting afloat.

The blustery conditions knocked the rod average back slightly. However, significant action was still being experienced out on the water by Sean Hanlon in particular. He got into deeper lying fish off the Farborough Dam & down into Toft. Using blobs on a sink rate 7 line he ended his session with a tally of 26 to the boat. Roger Kerrison also boat fished to net 16. Eyebrook staff member David Davis paid us a visit on his day off & presented a team of buzzers both straight lined & as a washing line for a total of 14 from the boat. Wednesday also saw our stocking of beautiful blues which, by early Thursday, were delighting anglers in Rainbow Corner, Biggin Bay & Toft!! These fish are proving to be extremely aggressive and most powerful in play.

Tony Broadway was back in action on the bank on Thursday and his 20 fish total included five blues. Richard Damon also took one as part of his 10 fish boat catch which he weighed in at 5lbs 4ozs. Howard & Marion Rutter were also afloat fishing teams of buzzer to get well into double figures with “Marion having her best ever day at Draycote”. Matt Harris similarly enjoyed a frantic boat session landing huge numbers of fish on “everything except dries!!” With three fish over five pounds to his net he described the stock fish as the best he had ever seen! The 777 catch total for the day equated to a rod average of 10.02

Friday saw us back to increased WSW & SW winds, gusting up to 24mph with decreased temperatures & a significant wind chill factor. This led to boat & bank anglers having to work harder for their fish. Nevertheless, regulars Gordon Slack & Alan Bettles managed 8 each on the bank. Gordon fished Lin Croft & Dunn’s Bay with a washing lined buzzer setup. Meanwhile, Mr Lambert caught 7 off the bank at Lin Croft on snakes & described his first encounter with a 3lbs blue as “Top battle!”. Mr C J Day also fished Lin Croft with buzzer & damsel & netted one blue amongst his 11 fish tally whose fight he described as “magnificent!” The blues continued to impress down in Toft too where Mike Sutton, fishing from the bank with a washing line, enjoyed an exhilarating “superb fight” with a blue of 6lbs. The fish was net weighed before being carefully released.

Saturday dawned with bright sunshine and blustery conditions. This made for difficult fishing, particularly as the wind changed direction several times throughout the day. The Paisley Patterns visiting us from Scotland on a 3 day package found it a bit harder through Saturday although they did boat 62 fish between them. All in all, they did comment that it was a great trip. Mr Dave and Mr Mike Mee, again visiting us on a 3 day package, had 35 fish to the boat between them on small buzzers. Season permit holder Dennis Tidmarsh caught 8 fish from the bank. Mr Martin Hancox caught 6 fish from the bank in an afternoon session. The boat pairing of Mr M Robinson and Mr L Haslam Jones did really well on DI 7’s and boobies, netting 21 fish between them. The Ospreys Team from South Wales caught a total of 75 fish between 20 rods on various methods.

To say Sundays weather forecast was inaccurate would be a bit of an understatement. The wind blew a steady westerly with only one or two light showers throughout the day. It was Toft shallows, Grays Barn, the Cornfield, Lin Croft point and Biggin bay which gave the best sport both for bank and boat anglers. Mr A Stanbridge and Mr J Sheridan shared a boat for the day and caught 19 fish between them on buzzers down in Toft. The boat pairing of Mike and Dave Mee once again did really well with 31 fish to the boat. Season permit holder Mr Paul Walley had a good day with 10 fish from the bank. Mr D and Mr N Starsmore had a total of 12 fish to the boat on buzzers, crunchers and diawl bachs.

Weekly Boat draw

Congratulations to Mr Jim Dempsey of Bedworth who is the winner of this week’s free boat draw.

Weekly Stats:

Number Rods: 347 Number Trout Taken: 604 Number Trout Released: 1959

Total Catch: 2563 Weekly Rod Average: 7.4

Current Fishing Times:

Bank: 07:30 until : 20:15

Boat All Day: 08:30 until 20:15

Boat Part Day: AM 08:30 until 14:00 PM 14:00 until 20:15

Last 4 Hours from: 16:15 until 20:15 (Ticket sales available from 16:00)

Gutting Room Closes – 19:45

All Anglers to be off site by: 20:45

Fishery News

Sage & Rio Day

Saturday 13th May 2017 Meet Simon Gawsworth & Jim Fearn 10:00 to 16:00 hrs Our Draycote guides will also be taking to the water along with representatives from Sage & Rio Products. We offer you the opportunity to book a complimentary fly fishing session afloat or on the pontoon with a member of the team using a SAGE rod matched with a RIO fly line of your choice. Limited slots remaining. To reserve your free place, please call the lodge on 01788 812018.

Tuition Days- Beginners Courses

Saturday 6th MayHosted by Kevin Hart & Tom Bird Course now full

Sunday 21st May Hosted by Kevin Hart & Tom Bird Currently three spaces available

Saturday 10th June Hosted by Jim Williams of Vision Tackle. Currently five spaces available

Sunday 11th June Hosted by Jim Williams of Vision Tackle. Currently four spaces available

Call the lodge on 01788 812018 to book or for further information

Trout Masters

Draycote has joined the Troutmasters Competition. Entry forms can be found next to the booking out sheets. You will need a member of staff to countersign your entry. Good luck!

Our hard pressed team strive to maintain the boats to a high standard of cleanliness. Anglers are kindly requested to respect their endeavours by keeping their vessels shipshape & litter free. Particular attention should be paid to avoiding the unnecessary practise of pulling muddy anchors on board. These should be shaken clean before being lifted into the boat. Your assistance in this regard will be most appreciated.

Catch Returns

In order to maintain the accuracy of our records could all anglers please ensure that they fill in the catch return sheet before departure. If not in the lodge it will be found on the counter in the gutting room next door.

Anchoring

Boat anglers are also politely reminded of the ruling that there is no anchoring within 100 yards of any pontoon or aerators. This is especially relevant to the harbour pontoon as its own mooring chains & anchors extend out a considerable distance from the end of the harbour & are easily fouled.

Car Passes

Bank Anglers car passes should be, booked prior to coming fishing as we only have a limited number available.

Rudder Hire

Boat anglers may wish to note that we now have a rudder for hire at the daily rate of £7. It can be pre booked at the time you make your boat booking.